goldboxfandomcom-20200215-history
Hillsfar/Manual
HILLSFAR INTRODUCTION TO HILLSFAR After weeks of hard campaigning, your supplies and rations are all but exhausted. Your party set up camp just outside of Hillsfar. You had thought to make a quick stop at the city to gather supplies, maybe drop into your guild to see what things are like. You had no idea what you were getting into as you stepped through the gates... No weapons allowed inside the gates! Magic? Only his Excellency the First Lord's magic is allowed in Hillsfar. Also his Excellency does not allowed training up levels within Hillsfar. The dreaded Red Plumes see all and tolerate no threat to the enforced law and order of the region! WELCOME TO HILLSFAR! A FORGOTTEN REALMS game adventure, and part of TSR's latest ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS gaming system. Hillsfar promises adventure and Intrigue that will challenge any potential hero. There are several different quests to complete for each of the four character classes. Hillsfar was the most open city on the Moonsea until the council was overthrown. The merchant-mage Maalthiir, self proclaimed First Lord of Hillsfar, now rules the region with an iron fist. Shrewd, ruthless, and independent, he hasn't made many allies, and Hillsfar struggles to hold its own against the surrounding power lords who eye the wealthy port city with greed interest. Law and order are maintained by the dreaded Red Plumes, Maalthiir's mercenary guard, who stalks the city night and day, watching all. Ah! But a city under tight control is a city of opportunity to any worthwhile adventurer. With no weapons and little magic, your wits and agility are your best chance to overcome the puzzles and mysteries surrounding Hillsfar. Your welfare will depend on how well you can figure out mazes, pick a lock, ride a horse (and not get thrown), squeeze information from the pub, and overcome the countless obstacles yet to be unearthed. Despite the recent revolution, Hillsfar remains the Jewel of Moonsea. Wealth and adventure await you in the city pubs, the guilds for each class, the cemetary, the archery range, the sewers, the haunted mansion, the magicuser's tower. Maalthiir's castle, and most of all, the Arena. If you're lucky, you'll only be roughed up for crossing a Plume. If not, you'll be thrown into the Arena, fighting for your life and for Maalthiir's amusement. With staves and poles, you must rely on ingenuity and quick reflexes to get you out of this mess. Have you the right tools to pick that complicated lock? Think you can hold your own in the Arena? Glancing up at the scowling Red Plumes guarding the gate, you certainly hope so. No one ever said that adventuring was easy, and stepping through gates to enter Hillsfar, you begin to realize why. STARTING PLAY :Load a character to ride to Hillsfar >>Loading a already created character :Create a Hillsfar character >>Create a new character :Save your current Hillsfar character >>Saving game :Remove a Hillsfar character >>Delete a unwanted character :Transfer a character >>Transfer a char from Pools of Radiance :Make a Hillsfar save game disk >>Making a Hillsfar save game disk CREATING A CHARACTER You must create a character to seek adventure and accomplish quests in Hillsfar. Characters are differentiated by their race, ability scores, and class. 1. SELECTING YOU CHARACTER'S RACE Dwarf: This is a cunning race of sturdy workers and craftsmen. They can be fighters and thieves at the same time. Elf: As tall as humans but slimmer, they can be fighters, magic- users, thieves, fighter/magic-users, fighter/thieves, magic users/thieves, and fighter/magic-user/thieves. Elves also have a better chance of finding hidden objects. Gnomes: Members of this race are shorter and slimmer than their cousins the dwarves. They can be fighters, thieves, or fighter/thieves. Half-Elf:These hybrids have many of the virtues of both humans and elves. Like elves, they can be more than one class at once. Halfing:These folk are about half the size of a human, hence their name. They have little ability with magic, but are resistant to its influences. They can be fighters, magic-users, clerics, and thieves. Humans: This is the most common player race in the Forgotten Realms. They have unlimited progression as fighters, magic-users, clerics, and thieves. 2. SELECTING YOUR CHARACTER'S GENDER You will have to select whether your character will be male or female. As the race selection, highlight your choice and press the space bar or fire button when ready. 3. SELECTING YOU CHARACTER'S CLASS A description of the classes is listed below. Cleric: The cleric is a holy crusader whop fights for the causes of his religion. Due to religious restrictions, he cannot use a cutting weapon that draws blood. such as a sword or an arrow, but can use any form of armor and use crushing weapons, such as a mace. Fighter: The fighter can use any form of armor or weapon including magic ones, but most other magical items, & all magical spells are beyond him. MagicUser:The magic-user is potentially the most powerful character class, but he starts out weak. Initially, he has very few Hit Points. In addition, he cannot memorize many spells, and must carefully husband his spells until he gains more through advancement in level. Magic-Users cannot use any form of armor or any weapon other than a dagger, dart of staff. However, there are magic items only magic-users can use. Thief: The thief uses trickery and misdirection-instead of brute force-to win his objective. This is only the profession in which demihumans may climb as far as any human. Indeed, halfings and elves are especially adept in this craft. To be a proficient thief a character must have high dexterity. Thieves must stick to leather-based armor and have restricted lists of weapons. Multiple Classes: Non human races can sometimes be a combination of classes. When a character is more than one class, his Hit Points per level are averaged among the classes involved. However, his experience is split between the two classes even when he cannot advance further in one of them. He gains all the benefits of both classes in regard to weapons and equipment. 4. CHOOSING AN ALIGNMENT Alignment is the philosophy a character lives by. While the actions of a character are under your control, the character's alignment can affect how NPCs in the game view him. The computer will provide all the possible alignments for you to choose from. 5. YOUR CHARCATER'S ABILITY SCORES Ability scores are base on a range from 3 (low) to 19 (high). You have the option of re-rolling your chracetr's scores or keeping them. Keep rerolling your character until you have the ability scores you desire. A description of the ability scores follows: Strength (Str). This is the measure of how much a character can carry and how much damage he can do in a fight. Strength is a fighter's most important attribute. Intelligence (Int). This is the measure of how much a character can ultimately memorize. Intelligence is a magic-user's most important attribute. Wisdom (Wis). This is the measure of a character's ability to understand the ways of the world and interact with it. Wisdom is a cleric's most important attribute. Dexterity (Dex). This is the measure of the manual dexterity and agility of the character. Dexterity is a thief's most important attribute. Constitution (Con). This is the measure of the overall health of a character. It has a major effect on how many hit points a character receives. Charisma (Cha). This is the measure of how well the character interacts with other characters. It is sometimes a factor when a character has an encounter with a Non-Player Character, usually called an NPC. 6. SELECTING A NAME This is the last step in creating your character. Your character's name may have up to 15 letters in it. After choosing the name, you will be asked whether you wish to save your character. Two additional character attributes which will appear in the summary screen are explained below: Hit Points (hp). This attribute is derived from a character's constitution, his level, and his character class (see below). Every time a character is hit he loses Hit Points. A character with many Hit Points can survive longer than one with few Hit Points. When a character reaches 0 Hit Points he is dead. Experience Points (EX). As a character adventures and accumulates treasure, he gains Experience Points. The more experience points, the more proficient the character is in his class. RIDING A HORSE From camp you will be given a horse to ride to Hillsfar and other points of interest outside the city. A map of the outskirts of the city is used for selection of your destination. You may hightlight the possible routes to travel by pressing the arrow keys. Press the space bar to ride on the path you selected. From certain points, like the camp, your selection may be limited to only one path. Occasionally, a question mark will appear where you horse is. When this happens you will have the option of attempting to ride on a forgotten trail. If you wish to try an unmarked trail, press the space bar when the question mark appears. It has been said that some of these trails lead to fame, fortune, and danger. The horse and rider are controlled by using the keypad or a joystick. Moving the joystick or arrow keys right to speed up and left to slow down. Moving the joystick up or hitting the up arrow key commands the horse to jump, and down on the joystick or arrow keys will cause the rider to duck flying birds or arrows. If you find a Rod of Blasting, you may use it to destroy obstacles on the riding path. To use the Rod of Blasting, press the fire button on the joystick or press the space bar. All Rods have a specified number of charges and when used up, they will disappear. Beware! The footpaths and roads are treacherous indeed! You will have to jump and duck obstacles along these paths lest you be thrown from your horse. Some of the objects you will have to avoid includes bales of hay, ditches and holes, puddles, fences, bushes, and tree stumps. Every time you misjudge an obstacle, you will run the risk of losing your horse. Although certain horses are more loyal than others many will abandon its owner when pushed to its limit. If this happens, a list of options will appear: Walk on ahead: This option may let yoy walk to the destination you selected. Look for a horse: Search for a horse. If you find one, you will continue onward. Wait for passerby: Wait for someone to pass by who will take you to the trading post. Start walking back: This option returns you to your starting location. Keep in mind that whenever your steed gallops away, you will be in danger of being robbed or worse. ADVENTURING IN HILLSFAR Once you have successfully reached Hillsfar, you will find yourself in the upper tight-hand corner of the city, represented by a flashing arrow. This is where the stables are and where you must go in order to leave the city. On the left side of the screen, you will see a 3-D view of buildings in front of you. To turn, use the left and right arrow keys. To move forward use the up arrow. To turn around 180 degrees, use the down arrow. Move the joystick in the same directions to move forwardm right, left and to turn 180 degrees. On the lower left side of the screen you will see the status of your character and what he is carrying. Always watch your character's Hit Points. If you run out of these, your character will die. Also displayed are the number of knock rings and healing potions in your possession. Depending on your character's class, you will want to find a pub or guild. Take time and become acquainted with the city. You will notice that the message window will move between two positions on the screen. When you are in the northern part of the city, the message window will be on the bottom half of the screen. When you are in the southern part of the city, the message window will be one the top half of the screen. Many times in the game you will be given clues and quests. In some areas of the city you may need to look for items, clues or people. To examine an area closely press the space or fire button. ADDITIONAL COMMANDS: R - Recall the last clue given. S - Toggle the sound on or off. P - Use a healing potion <-- or ESC - Pause the game. TANNA'S TARGET RANGE For practice or for gold you can set your sights at Tanna's Target Range. For a small fee, Tanna will allow you to compete against other marksmen for fame and gold. Upon entering the range, you will see a list of scores and the amount of the purse you will receive if you exceed them. You will be told the entrance fee and asked if you wish to participate. If you want to participate, you will be asked if you want to practice first. The only differences between practice and competition is that you are not charged for practice, and you cannot collect any awards or have your score added to the list. Once you have made your choice, you will be asked to choose the weapon you wish to rent. You may rent a sling, daggers, darts, or a bow and some arrows. Sling - the only weapon that is usable by a cleric. Dagger - the heaviest weapon available. Darts - faster and lighter than daggers. Arrow - the fastest weapon. Wand - for mages only. Once you have selected a weapon. it will be time to show what you're made of. The targets will vary in value depending on their difficulty. The joystick or keypad controls the motion of the cross hairs. Use the space bar or button to fire. You will notice as you aim your weapon that seems to drift. The higher the dexterity you have, the less drift there will be. Keep your eye on the windmill. It will tell you how fast the wind is blowing. To make an accurate shot, you must adjust for windage. The lighter the weapon is, the more it will be affected by the wind. Be accurate! You have only ten shots to beat the scores on the list. Once you have fired your last shot of ammunition, you will be given your rating and awarded any prizes you may have won. Don't be discouraged if you don't do well in the first few rounds; even William Tell had to practice. THE ARENA In the course of your travels in Hillsfar, you will sooner or later end up at the arena. In the arena you may fight for wealth, fame, honor, or perhaps pay for a crime you've committed. While the arena is generally favored by fighters, anyone is allowed to compete. Most arena battles are fought until one of the fighters is knocked senseless. When fighting as a result of serious crimes, death becomes a distinct possibility. JOYSTICK: _ up | | special block __| |___ left;block left /o |_| /| right:block right /_______/ / with button:attack left |_______|/ with button:attack right down special attack Each opponent you meet in the arena will have his own fighting style. To defeat your opponent study his fighting style. Exploit his weaknesses; beware of his strengths. When you fight in the arena, you will be armed with a staff. The first person to knock his opponent unconcious is the victor. LOCK PICKING Whether you are a thief or not, there will come a time when someone has locked up something you want. If you're not a thief, you may resort to bashing down a door, or smashing a treasure chest. But if you are a thief, or you have hired an NPC thief and you have a set of picks, other options may be open to you. When come upon a locked door or chest with yor trusty set of picks in hand, you will be asked if you want to pick the lock. If you do, the lock picking screen will be displayed. Locks must be picked one tumbler at a time, from left to right. To pick the lock, use the arrow keys or the joystick to select the pick which matches the tumbler. Use the fire button or the space bar to flip the pick over if necessary. Hit the return key to try it on the tumbler. If you choose the wrong pick or the wrong end of the pick, you might break it. Sometimes you may not have all the picks necessary to open a lock. When this happens, press the 'E' key before trying any picks and you will leave the lock. It is possible that a tumbler may be jammed. You will have to stick the pick in more than once to force a jammed tumbler down. Note: There is a greater chance of breaking a pick when trying to force a jammed tumbler. Keep in mind that while broken picks are displayed, they cannot be used until you have them fixed. Some locks are tougher than other locks and some locks are trapped. Putting the wrong pick into a trap is almost certain to set it off. If you're successful put the correct pick into the lock, the tumbler will fall, giving you access to the next one. When you pick the last tumbler, the chest or door will open. You will only have a short amount of time in which to pick a lock. Should you fail to pick the lock within the time limit, any traps it has are almost certain to go off. Once you become familiar with your picks, you should have no trouble opening any lock as long as you have theright picks. If you have trouble picking a lock, you may used the "F" key to attempt to force the lock or the "Z" key to use a knock ring (if you have one). OPENING DOORS AND CHESTS If you're not a thief and don't have a thief NPC with you, or if you don't have a set of lock picks, you can still open the lcoks. When you find a lock door or chest, you will be asked if you want to open it. If you do, you will be provided with the list of options below. Some of the options may not be available. Options: LEAVE! DO NOT TRY THIS LOCK: This option will only be available until you attempt some other form of opening the lock. USE PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO FORCE IT: Attempt to use brute force to open the lock. Be careful, if the lock is trapped you may set it off. PICK THE LOCK WITH A SMALL OVBJECT: By using this option, you will be attempting to pick the lock with a small stick or a straight piece of metal. Be careful, if the lock is trapped you may set it off. USING A KNOCK RING: If you have a knock ring, you may use it to attempt to open a lock. Knock rings are available to all character classes within Hillsfar. Knock rings will open one lock per ring because a knock ring is consumed by the energy required to unlock the lock. USE THE CHIME OF OPENING: This is a magical item that can be used to force all of the tumblers down. Of course, you have to find the chime of opening first... You will only have a short period of time to open the lock and when the time runs out, you are returned to where you came from. BUILDINGS AND MAZES As part of the adventuring in Hillsfar, you will have many opportunities to enter the buildings in the city, as well as sewers, hedge mazes and othe labryinths. It is important that you investigate many of these thoroughly. Valuable items, information, and gold can be found in these places. Be warned, many of these places are protected by guardians or the Red Plume Guards themselves. In many cases, you will only have a limited amount of time to collect whatever you can. In most cases you will want to collect as much as you can and then find the exit, which appears as a stairway leading down, before the guards find you. Everytime a guard or guardian touches you, the total time remaining, which is displayed at the top of the screen, will decrease. Once there is no time remaining, the first guard who touches you will capture you. If this happens, you will lose all the items you have collected, and possibly be senetenced to a fight to the death in the arena. If you are caught within the castle, you will always wind up in the arena. Moving through the maze is accomplished by using the arrow keys or the joystick. Move as quickly as you can and be wary of traps. HOURS THAT SPECIAL BUILDINGS ARE OPEN: BUILDING HOURS 1) Arena........................8 am - 11 pm 2) Archery......................8 am - 3 pm 3) Bank.........................8 am - 3 pm 4) Book Store...................8 am - 3 pm 5) Castle.......................Never Open 6) Cemetary.....................12 am - 7 am 7) Temple of Tempus.............Always open 8) Stables......................Always open 9) Fighter's Guild..............Always open 10) Haunted Mansion.............Never open 11) Healer shops................8 am - 3 pm 12) Jail........................Never open 13) Mages' Guild................Always open 14) Mages' shops................8 am - 3 pm 15) Mages' Tower................8 am - 3 pm 16) Pubs........................5 pm - 7 am 17) Sewers......................Always open 18) Rogue's Guild...............Always open Note: The guilds are always open to their class, and always closed to all other classes. Hints: To get into the jail, pick the first few tumblers with picks and force the last tumber open by pressing 'F'. Always try to hire a rogue if you can. They help you in your ventures of picking locks.